Hetlioz News

TUESDAY, Nov. 29, 2016 – Preprogrammed doses of medications that can raise the risk of falls are often set too high for older hospital patients, new research shows. In the study, doctors looked at the records of 287 patients over the age of 65 who fell while staying in a large urban hospital. Some patients fell more than once, adding to a total of 328 falls in the study. Of those falls, 62 percent occurred in patients who had been given at least one high-risk medication in the 24 hours before their fall. Of that 62 percent, 16 percent had been given two high-risk medicines, while another 16 percent had been given three or more. And 41 percent of the medications studied were electronically set at doses that were greater than recommended for older patients. The 29 medicines examined included opioid painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet, sleeping pills, muscle relaxants and ... Read more

-- Bright light can interrupt sleep quickly, so many people use a sleep mask. The National Sleep Foundation suggests how to choose the right one: Consider whether you need a sleep mask that provides total blackout, or one that provides darker conditions in a room that's already fairly dark. Look for a mask that fits across the bridge of the nose. Invest in a quality mask with a nose flap to help block more light and provide a better fit. Opt for a mask with cavities that alleviate pressure around your eyes. Find the right fabric that feels comfortable, is easy to wash and doesn't trigger allergies. Read more

MONDAY, May 2, 2016 – People with long-term sleep troubles should turn to a form of psychotherapy to reboot normal sleeping patterns before trying sleeping pills, the American College of Physicians recommends. Specifically, people with chronic insomnia should try cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the experts said. This treatment combines talk therapy, behavioral interventions and education. If CBT doesn't work, patients and their doctors should then decide together whether to add drug therapy, the new guidelines said. "We know chronic insomnia is a real problem that patients present within our [doctors'] offices," said Dr. Wayne Riley, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP). "We want to get away from the overtendency to prescribe sleep medications, and clearly CBT can be a very nice tool in the toolkit." Up to 10 percent of adults are affected by insomnia, defined as ... Read more

THURSDAY, Oct. 15, 2015 – Fast-paced urban lifestyles may not be to blame for the lack of sleep that plagues many people today, a new study shows. Researchers tracked the sleep habits of three traditional hunter-gatherer groups in Bolivia, Namibia and Tanzania, and found their sleep timing and duration to be similar to those of more "modern" people. The finding "has important implications for the idea that we need to take sleeping pills because sleep has been reduced from its 'natural level' by the widespread use of electricity, TV, the Internet and so on," researcher Jerome Siegel of the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a news release from the journal Current Biology. His team published its findings in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal. In the study, Siegel's team followed the sleep habits of 94 people from three hunter-gatherer tribes across different parts of the world: ... Read more

THURSDAY, June 11, 2015 – Sedative sleeping pills such as Ambien can nearly double the risk for car accidents among new users compared with nonusers, new research suggests. University of Washington researchers found an increased risk for crashes for people taking Restoril (temazepam), Desyrel (trazodone) or Ambien (zolpidem). That risk continued for up to a year among regular users, according to the study. "Risks associated with sleeping pills have been known for some time, though this study shows some compelling real-world consequences," said Michael Grandner, an instructor in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who had no involvement with the study. Doctors, pharmacists and patients should discuss this potential risk when selecting a sleep medication, the researchers said. Concerns about Ambien have increased in recent years. To cut down on hazards linked to ... Read more